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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Guest Post, Excerpt and Giveaway Leap of Faith by Jamie Blair

Published September 3rd, 2013

Description:

Leah Kurtz has finally found a place to call home, a town where she and baby Addy can live in peace, far from the drug-infested place she grew up. Chris is one of the best parts of her new life, the only person who’s ever made her feel safe. And now that she’s found him, there’s no way she can tell the truth:

Her real name is Faith, not Leah. She’s seventeen, not nineteen. And the baby isn’t hers—Faith kidnapped her.

Faith’s history catches up with her when a cop starts asking questions and Chris’s aunt spots her picture in the newspaper. She knows it’s time to run again, but if Faith leaves, she’ll lose Chris. If Chris is in love with a lie, though, did Faith ever really have him in the first place?

GUEST POST

The Teen Pregnancy Book That’s Not

A handful of times over the past couple weeks, I’ve spotted Leap Of Faith being called a teen pregnancy book. The funny part of this to me is that the teen, Faith, in my book is never really pregnant. But, she does pretend that the baby, who is actually her newborn sister, is her own baby and the situation she gets herself into does make her a teen mom.

Faith, having grown up with an addict for a mom, more often than not with no food in the house, knows that her baby sister is in for an even worst childhood than she had. What starts in Faith’s mind as getting back at her mom turns into an enormous sacrifice as she takes the baby and goes on the run.

Taking care of a newborn isn’t glorified in Leap of Faith and that’s not because as the author I wanted to make the book a preachy, issue book. I wrote it for entertainment, not as a warning to readers. Having a newborn is portrayed as touch because it really is. Having a newborn is insanely hard. Anyone taking on the task of raising a baby needs a support system, and this is where Leap Of Faith gets tricky.

Faith not only finds her support system, but she finds the family she’s never had and always wanted. But, in the back of her mind, she knows her time there is limited. She’s told so many lies, it has to come to an end somehow.

When it all does come crashing down, Faith has a second sacrifice to make. She’s grown to love the family—and the boy—who have taken her and her baby in. But, in order to keep them from being implemented in any legal action Faith might face for kidnapping the baby, she knows she has to leave the perfect life she’s found behind.

Leap Of Faith isn’t a teen pregnancy book. It’s a book about sacrifice, love, family and hope.

EXCERPT:

“I’m Chris.” His eyes are hazel. They’d be bluer or greener depending on what
he wore. His gray shirt keeps them the
in-between shade. He plays a few more
chords and sets his guitar on the couch beside him. “Well?
What do you think?”

I glance around. There’s not much to it, but it works. “How much?”

He rubs his
chin. It’s covered in stubble. I imagine how it would feel against my cheek,
and my face gets hot.

Addy squirms and
lets out a small shriek. Chris’s eyes
dart to her. This could be the deal
breaker.

She squawks
again. “What time is it?” I ask,
realizing she’s probably hungry.

He shrugs. “Around five or six. She need to eat?”

“Yeah. Guess I better go so I can feed her.” I take a step toward the door.

“Here,” he comes
forward, reaching his arms out. “I’ll
hold her. Go on out and get her a
bottle. You have one with you, don’t
you?”

I nod, watching
him take Addy out of my arms, place her against his chest, and rub her
back. “Do you have kids?” It seems like a dumb question, but he’s a
natural with Addy.

He laughs. “No.
Fortunately, I’ve never been in that predicament.” He looks from Addy to me, and his face falls. “I mean…”

Right. He thinks I got knocked up. I’m a teen mom. “It’s okay.
Don’t worry about it.” I smile,
trying to put him at ease. “I’ll be
right back.”

After opening the
door to the stairs, I glance over my shoulder.
He’s running his fingers over the top of her head and bouncing her
gently. “Shh, baby, don’t cry. Mommy will be right back.”

Jamie Blair spent most of her teen years choreographing moves for her dance team routines, kissing boys on the couch after her mom went to bed, and pondering the mood enhancement qualities of Lemon Heads when consumed with Diet Coke. Writing under Kelli Maine, she’s the USA Today bestselling author of Taken. Leap of Faith is her debut New Adult novel.

3 comments:

This books sounds really good! Lately I've been so annoyed with books that just seem like I've read them before only with slightly different characters. This story sounds very original, which is good for a change.